Endless Elegance Through Due Diligence and Maintenance
It seems like in the arena of tricky floors to clean, marble takes the cake and eats it too. We get more questions about how to care for marble floors than any other flooring type except maybe hardwoods. These beautiful floors are a huge investment, they are also notoriously easy to damage. Here are 5 things you might not know about how to care for marble floors:
1) Marble is very easily stained.
You may think stone = tough stuff but really marble is much less resistant to stains than even most cheap vinyl flooring. Polished marble with a good stone sealer to protect it is definitely hardier than unfinished stone which can be porous White marble is the most vulnerable to nasty stains. Make sure your floor is treated with a high quality, water resistant sealer. Make sure you follow the product directions to the letter, never apply it on wet or waxed surfaces and when in doubt call the pro’s!
2) Acid eats marble like powdered sugar.
Bear with me, yes surely acid isn’t great for any surface but any kind of acid on your marble can cause almost instantaneous damage. This includes citric acid from citrus fruits, cola beverages and wine. You have to deal with a spill immediately after it occurs: wipe the substance up then clean with a clean damp cloth until you have removed all traces. Then it’s important to dry the marble with fresh dry towels because…
3) Marble hates water.
Ok, it probably doesn’t care but YOU should because water can stain your marble, especially white marble. Sitting water or a damp floor that’s not dried properly can lead to a breach in your sealant and then a stain. It’s not necessary to mop marble floors on a regular basis; most days just sweeping or dusting will do. If you must mop use a neutral cleaner and a slightly damp mop to clean the area. You will want to dry the floors as soon as possible so mop a small section and then dry it before moving on.
4) Marble scratches easily.
So much for “hard as a rock”! You can see at this point that marble is in fact very delicate flooring, very easily damaged. You will want to protect your floors from scratches because yes, marble is easily scratched too! You can put rubber protectors under the legs of the furniture in your home. Try to avoid dragging anything heavy across the floor. Put a doormat at each exterior door to collect any incoming grit or dirt before it reaches your floors. Sweep or dust your marble often to prevent ground in grit from scratching your stone.
5) Marble needs seasonal or annual maintenance.
To keep your marble looking it’s best you will occasionally need to get it honed and polished by professional floor care technicians. Honing levels out the surface while polishing creates that gorgeous, radiant shine that marble does best!